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January 26, 2012

THE SEVEN BASIC PLOTS, by Christopher Booker, 2004

This book at last provides a comprehensive answer to the age-old riddle of whether there are only a small number of 'basic stories' in the world. Using a wealth of examples, from ancient myths and folk tales, via the plays and novels of great literature to the popular movies and TV soap operas of today, it shows that there are seven archetypal themes which recur throughout every kind of storytelling. But this is only the prelude to an investigation into how and why we are 'programmed' to imagine stories in these ways, and how they relate to the inmost patterns of human psychology. (Goodreads)

Review by
Emily, high school student and bibliophile

So I
picked this one up randomly off the library shelf one day, and my first thought
was, "What a tome!"

Naturally,
I brought it home with me. I never can resist big books. They draw me like
magnets. And this is one big book, at over 700 pages.

This book
is about stories. About why we tell them, and how certain things must happen
within those stories to give the reader (or watcher, or listener) satisfaction
and closure. The author has obviously thoroughly researched; he cites literally
hundreds of stories: plays, operas, epics, books, movies . . . and he shows how
each is unique, and yet so very similar to others of its genre.

The seven
basic plots are as follows: Overcoming the Monster, Rags to Riches, The Quest,
Voyage and Return, Comedy, Tragedy, and Rebirth. He goes through each, and its
variations, and shows what has to happen for that story to be fulfilled - or
turned on its head. It's fascinating how many very different stories have the
very same bones, really. He begins with a striking example: the movie Jaws
and the epic Beowulf. When he breaks it down, they're scarily similar.
Yet, he insists, it is not because someone decided to copy the story, it is
because we all think in terms of stories, and our human nature draws us back to
these archetypal plots through the vast reaches of time.

In the
end, I loved this book because it's an invaluable resource. It made me think,
and although at times difficult to wade through, it really did make for some
wonderful reading.